Five Years Of Growth At Arqana

For the fifth straight year, the cumulative gross at Arqana's auctions-this year 10 'physical' sales and four online sales-rose, this time by 5% on 2016 to €135,903,000. That figure is up 81% from 2010.

The number of horses offered (+1.86%) and sold (+3.27%) at Arqana sales also increased, as did the cumulative clearance rate of 79.2%. The average price was up just under 1% at €50,655, while the median remained the same at €20,000. This growth is on the back of racetrack successes that this year included Derby wins for Arqana graduates Wings Of Eagles (Fr) (Pour Moi {Ire}) and Brametot (Fr) (Rajsaman {Fr}), as well as Capri (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who is out of a mare sourced from Arqana. The €8,000 foal turned 1.5-million gns filly Different League (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}) was the highlight of the Arqana graduates among this year's 2-year-old crop.

Arqana's flagship sale, the August Yearling Sale, returned results in line with the current selective market trends, a smaller catalogue resulting in a clearance rate and turnover that were slightly down, but an increased average. The v.2 Yearling Sale and October yearling sales each achieved a healthy clearance rate of 83% and both posted milestone aggregates, the v.2 passing €4-million for the first time, and October €20-million.

The Arqana Autumn horses-in-training and December Breeding Stock sales each posted healthy increases across all categories, as did the Breeze-Up Sale, with the exception of clearance rate, which was slightly down.

Arqana Chief Executive Officer Eric Hoyeau said, “2017 saw some great vitality from all the Arqana sales, with the remarkable specificity that there was growth at all market levels. Top-drawer offerings attracted highly competitive demand, but the middle market rose even faster, as showed by the brilliant results from the October Yearling Sale and Part II of the Breeding Stock Sale. In other words, all vendors who made the decision to sell at Arqana in 2017 proved rewarded, which is what we strive for. Moreover, trade was fueled by demand from a host of long-standing supporters of our auctions as well as a significant number of fresh investors, both from France and abroad, for the flat and the jumps. These are positive signs for the future of the French racing and breeding industry, and vindicate the major investments made by French breeders to upgrade their stock as well as by Arqana to consistently enhance its customer service. We would like to thank the agents, the trainers, the FRBC and all those who contributed to attracting these new buyers and roll out the red carpet on their first visit to our sales. We never stop prospecting for future investors and from 2018 we will be able to rely on a fabulous showcase for French racing and breeding in the renovated ParisLongchamp–a most exciting outlook.”